7 Focus Boosting and Productivity

Enhancing Digital Tools to Try Today

As business owners and entrepreneurs it’s so easy to get distracted and lose focus as there will always be

something or someone who needs your attention.

As an Evernote Business Consultant and Technology Coach I use apps everyday to help me stay focused and

productive.

Evernote is my external brain

Mailbox controls my email

Google Drive – for my document storage

Nimble is my choice of CRM

Xero makes finances fun

There are so many digital tools available which will help you save time every day by allowing you to do things

easier, faster or in a more focused way. Here are my top seven apps, each of which have helped me streamline

and develop processes within my business.

Spending too much time on your mobile?

Try Forest for Android, iOS and Windows Phones. I’m revisiting this as I struggle with over consumption of

non-essential media on the iPhone. Whenever I open my phone during the proposed block out period it tells

me to get back to work. Intervention and gamification working together.

Do you use Facebook groups?

There is a standalone app which only shows you the activity of the groups you’re in rather than every friend or

page you follow. This is perfect if you participate in professional or personal groups on Facebook and prefer

not to fall into the black hole of distraction. It is currently free of ads and notifications and available on

Android and iOS devices here.

Procrastinating?

Try the Due App for iOS/Mac: A place where all your mundane but important reminders can go without

cluttering your calendar. It’s a great way to get rid of those tasks that you keep putting off because it will keep

popping up until you have marked them as complete. Tip: you can also use it to remind you to ‘be’ something

e.g. I am reminded at 10am every day to ‘Be grateful.’

Need help with time management?

Timeful for iPhone connects to your calendars and suggests suitable times for your tasks and habits. If you use

this app you’ll realise that very little gets done unless you schedule it! Coming soon to Android.

Use your voice instead of typing

Choose the dictation tool available on Mac, iPhone and iPad and Android. Apple iOS8 even lets you send

voicemail as SMS which is a much more personal way of communicating. Phenomenally faster than using a

keyboard.

Kindle tips for researchers and writers

Send all ebook highlights and notes to Evernote or a text file automatically by using the clippings.io browser

extension. Use Whispersync for Voice to switch seamlessly between reading and listening on selected titles.

Are you a mind-mapper?

XMind: is a sophisticated desktop mind mapping tool which visually transforms ideas into projects and action

steps. By saving maps to Google drive I am able to always be working on the latest version regardless of which

computer I am using. XMind also has a convenient ‘Save your map to Evernote feature’ which I use constantly.

Which of these appeal to you? I’d love you to try at least one and let me know how you go. Remember

technology is here to help us and often, if it’s not doing that, it’s just because we don’t quite know the best

way of using it.

Helen Crozier

Source: http://www.shebusiness.com/7-focus-boosting-and-productivity-enhancing-digital-tools-to-try-today